I twisted and turned, extending my arms and legs as I fell, fliping, feeling the wind whipping my face. I heard Tooth flying after me, but I tucked my arms and legs in like superman, the added weight of my braces in my bag tugging me down faster. I screamed again in pure exhilaration and joy.

I was flying.

I was finally flying.

I saw the ground approaching fast, and I knew, even if I wanted to, there was no stopping me from hitting the ground. I flipped to look at the sky, and I saw the moon. It was huge, and bright, and I decided I had been too hard on Manny. I yelled, my voice being torn away from my mouth, but I still yelled, "I forgive you Mannyyyyyyy."

And then I hit the ground.

~

I stayed absolutely still. For some reason, I wasn't dead, but I didn't want to be alive, either.

I heard murmuring, a voice I recognized to be Tooth's, and a voice I recognized as Jack's, plus several more I couldn't pinpoint.

I desperately wished I was invisible, that no one could see me. I kept my eyes closed and hoped and prayed, asking Manny.

"Hey!" A loud Australian voice said. I almost flinched, but stayed still.

I kept my eyes closed and slowed my breathing. I was breathing, but barely. A monotonous beeping in the background kept bugging me. It slowed to the rate of my heart.

Oh. It was probably a heart monitor.

A voice in the background with a thick Russian accent said "Her heart is slowing!"

I waited until I felt slight movement near me, then immediately tried to jump up and run away, smash though a window or something, but my legs and joints gave out, and I kept trying to inch towards the window, pulling myself, but my elbows gave out and I collapsed. I tried to straighten, but my knees buckled. I hit a wall and tried to use it to get back up, but my elbows failed me and I slid down. I frantically clawed at the wall, trying to stand, something, but it wasn't helping or doing anything. I probably looked like a maniac. I turned my head and saw people in the room, staring at me. All but Tooth were male and I started hyperventilating, gripping at my chest and whimpering in fear. There were four guys, and I turned my head back. I started slamming my head against the wall, but the pain made me freak out more. I spotted my backpack and curled around it protectively, grabbing my bottle of meds and taking four, twice the recommended dosage. Then I took painkillers and shoved a bar of vitamins or whatever in my mouth. I grabbed someone's arm -I didn't register whose- and scrambled to my feet. But the weight of my backpack caused me to fall again, but backwards like a turtle. I slipped out of my backpack and tried to stand again. I kept falling. My joints just weren't working, and they couldn't support me. I finally curled up in a ball, flipping my hood up, rocking back and forth.

Someone reached out a hand to me, and the moment they touched my arm, I snapped. I lost all control over my phobias and obsessions, and screamed at the top of my lungs. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" I wailed like a dying cat and started crying. The hand was immediately gone and I curled up tighter, trying to shrink into my sweatshirt. "Take me home. Just take me home," I sobbed. I looked and saw Jack reaching for me. I rolled away. "Tooth, please take me home." I couldn't deal with boys right now. I saw the hurt look on Jack's face, but it was all I could do just to keep from screaming until I passed out, I couldn't worry about his feelings now.

Tooth helped me to my feet, but my knees kept bending. She finally gave up and just picked me up. We were about the same size, but my backpack caused me to be too heavy for her. "Sorry about my backpack."

"No, Jack can just take it-"

"No! I mean, it's fine. I'll leave it here if I have to, but absolutely no guys."

The giant rabbit, who I recognized as the Easter Bunny, who was also the owner of the Australian accent, stepped towards me and I screamed. He stepped back, clearly shocked at my outburst, and I shut up, trembling.

Tooth tried to soothe my crying. I buried my face in her shoulder and sobbed. I finally calmed down.

"I just- I just can't deal with idiots right now," I said, trying to lighten the mood.

They just stared at me.

"What do you people want me to say? That I'm terrified? Because I am!" I whimpered and started crying again.

"I'll just take you home," Tooth said quietly. She flew out of the room, and I almost had a panic attack. "Oh, dear, the yeti are harmless. They won't hurt you."

"I don't care! Tooth, I need my room."

"We'll take a snowglobe then. It'll be faster."

"Will it hurt?"

"No, it's a portal."

"Are you going to put me in a sack?"

"No, we're going through like this."

"Okay. I trust you."

She threw the snowglobe at the ground and we were sucked through. I kept my eyes open, because I didn't want to be left in the darkness. It was a swirling vortex of rainbows and galaxies, and then, all too soon, it was over and we were in my room.

I dragged myself into bed and burrowed under the covers. "Sorry about freaking out earlier, Tooth." I reached over to my table and hit the button that turned on every light I had set up in my room. When they were on, there wasn't a single spot left dark. Not even under my bed, and I knew we could talk without fear. "I just have these really bad conditions. Like for example, four, probably more, phobias. One is achluophobia, the fear of darkness. That's why all the lights. Then I have agateophobia, a fear of insanity. I'm terrified this is all just some fantasy, a made up world my brain created for me to live in to escape. I also have agliophobia, the fear of pain, so I constantly take painkillers. Lastly, and most severely, I have androphobia, which is basically a fear of guys, even my own dad. That's why I was freaking out before, and all my walls were gone and I couldn't contain the fear anymore. I have all these obsessions too, and in addition to that, I have this stupid disease that makes my joints and bones weak."

Tooth came over and sat on the edge of my bed, stroking my hair. "I'm so sorry. And I don't even remember your name."

"Good," I said, my voice muffled by pillows. "I hate my name. It's so stupid. I have no idea why my parents picked it."

"I'm sure it's fine."

"It's not. I would prefer you come up with another name for me."

Tooth thought for a moment, tilting her head and tapping her chin. "What about Natalia? We could call you Natalie or Nat for short."

"Brilliant! It's so much better than being named after a saint- nothing. And you can't tell anyone about my phobias. Nobody. Just tell the Guardians I have a condition that makes me freak out every once in a while over nothing. Much less embarrassing."

I pulled a blanket around my head and held the ends under my chin, like a hood. I laughed a little and fell back. My elbows gave out again. I groaned and flailed my arms wildly, my elbows not doing a thing. I took a fourth dosage of limb medication today and knocked it back with a glass of water. I flexed my elbow, and it responded tentatively. I took another round of pills and they were fully under my control. I stood up firmly again and carelully looked over my braces, which Tooth had tossed in the portal in my backpack.

"These are too heavy. I could never do anything in them. I need lighter ones or my own method of transportation." I looked at Tooth. "But there is no way for me to magically fly, is there? I really don't want to make you lug me back and forth when I get panic attacks."

"Well, we could possibly ask Manny to grant you an ability, like being able to fly or turn invisible. If he really likes you, maybe two."

"Okay then. Lets ask." I tried to climb out the window and failed miserably. "This is so frustrating. It's a one story window and I can't get out." Tooth boosted me out, then carried me up to the roof, where I sat and stared at the moon.

"Hey Manny," I said quietly. Tooth scooted away, sensing this as a personal moment. "Look, I know part of my destiny is completing that prophesy. So can I just be able to fly? Or maybe turn invisible? I really don't want to be a burden, and I know I don't have too long. I can already feel myself dying. So please, can I have the ability to fly so Tooth doesn't get hurt helping me?"

The moon glowed a bit, and I smiled melancholily at it.

"Thanks for listening, even if you didn't grant me my wish. It's nice to know someone genuinely cares." I closed my eyes and thanked him with all my heart.

Suddenly, I didn't feel the roof under me. I opened my eyes and looked down. I was hovering about an inch off the ground. I tried to push myself up to a standing position, and a small breeze nudged me upright, I was so thin and light I could blow away in the wind. "Tooth, I can fly!" I touched her shoulder.

She fluttered up and hugged me. I almost felt my ribs crack. "Tooth, my ribs."

She got the message and wrapped her arms around me less tightly.

"Now, lets go figure out what to do with those teeth." I climbed in my window and put my backpack back on, braces securely placed inside, along with my laptop. I flew out the window and met up with Tooth.

"To the Palace."